IN FOCUS – SPECIAL BOOK SERIES IN FOCUS – SPECIAL BOOK SERIES BOOK SPECIAL – FOCUS IN

IN FOCUS – SPECIAL BOOK SERIES BOOK SPECIAL – FOCUS IN WATER IN HIMALAYAN TOWNS

Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance Water in Himalayan Towns: Adaptive Water Lessons for Governance Editors: Anjal Prakash and David Molden

Increasing urbanization and changing climate are two critical stressors that are adversely affecting the biophysical environment of urban areas in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. The book discusses various choices and options – from demand management to supply enhancement, understanding ecological footprints of towns to managing water at a bioregional scale. In doing so, it is vital to address issues of equity and empower local institutions in managing water. The focus for the future must be on building urban resilience by strengthening the adaptive capacities of affected communities while also understanding the limits to adaptation.

In Focus – a book series that showcases the latest accomplishments in water research. Each book focuses on a specialist area with papers from top experts in the field. It aims to be a vehicle for in-depth understanding and inspire further conversations in the sector. WATER IN HIMALAYAN TOWNS Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance

ISBN: 9781789061895 (paperback) ISBN: 9781789061901 (eBook) ISBN: 9781789061918 (ePUB)

Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 HimalayanTowns-Cover.indd All Pages 15/07/2020 16:51:16 Water in Himalayan Towns: Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance

Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 In Focus – Special Book Series

Water in Himalayan Towns: Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance

Editors Anjal Prakash and David Molden

Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Published by IWA Publishing Alliance House 12 Caxton Street London SW1H 0QS, UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 7654 5500 Fax: +44 (0)20 7654 5555 Email: [email protected] Web: www.iwapublishing.com

First published 2020 © 2020 IWA Publishing

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1998), no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, or, in the case of photographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licenses issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of licenses issued by the appropriate reproduction rights organization outside the UK. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to IWA Publishing at the address printed above.

The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for errors or omissions that may be made.

Disclaimer The information provided and the opinions given in this publication are not necessarily those of IWA and should not be acted upon without independent consideration and professional advice. IWA and the Editors and Authors will not accept responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person acting or refraining from acting upon any material contained in this publication.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 9781789061895 (paperback) ISBN: 9781789061901 (eBook)

Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Contents

Editorial: Mapping challenges for adaptive water management in Himalayan towns Anjal Prakash and David Molden ...... 1

Urbanisation and water insecurity in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Insights from , , and Sreoshi Singh, S. M. Tanvir Hassan, Masooma Hassan and Neha Bharti ...... 9

Urban water resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya: issues, challenges and way forward Vishal Singh and Anvita Pandey ...... 33

Water availability, consumption and sufficiency in Himalayan towns: a case of Murree and Havellian towns from Basin, Pakistan Zeeshan Tahir Virk, Bilal Khalid, Abid Hussain, Bashir Ahmad, Salaar Saeed Dogar, Nelufar Raza and Bilal Iqbal ...... 46

Dynamics of urban water supply management of two Himalayan towns in India Neha Bharti, Neha Khandekar, Prateek Sengupta, Suruchi Bhadwal and Ishaan Kochhar ...... 65

Perform or wither: role of water users’ associations in municipalities of Nepal Sreoshi Singh, Krity Shrestha, Menaka Hamal and Anjal Prakash ...... 90

Water management systems of two towns in the : case studies of in and Kalimpong in West states of India Ghanashyam Sharma, Chhayavani Namchu, Kalsang Nyima, Mahindra Luitel, Sreoshi Singh and Chanda Gurung Goodrich ...... 107

The pain of water: a household perspective of water insecurity and inequity in the Kathmandu Valley Olivia C. Molden, Anoj Khanal and Nita Pradhan ...... 130

Conundrum or paradox: deconstructing the spurious case of water scarcity in the Himalayan Region through an institutional economics narrative Rinan Shah and Shrinivas Badiger ...... 146

Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 vi Water in Himalayan Towns: Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance

Adapting to urban flooding: a case of two cities in South Ismat Ara Pervin, Sheikh Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, Mani Nepal, Abdul Kalam Enamul Haque, Humayun Karim and Ganesh Dhakal ...... 162

Equity impacts of informal private water markets: case of Kathmandu Valley Aditi Raina, Yogendra Gurung and Bhim Suwal ...... 189

Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Editorial Mapping challenges for adaptive water management in Himalayan towns Anjal Prakasha,* and David Moldenb aBharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] bInternational Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal

1. Introduction

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is characterized by complex topography, climate, hydrology, and hydrogeology. Each of these factors plays an important role in determining the availability of water for people living in the (Scott et al., 2019). These physical features are also a constraint to rapid urbanization (Mukherji et al., 2018). Only 3% of the total HKH population live in larger cities and 8% in smaller towns (Basyal & Khanal, 2001). However, urbanization has increased in recent years with people from rural areas flocking to nearby urban centres in search of employment and other economic opportunities (Bajracharya et al., 2019). As a result, the share of urban population is increasing in the region, while that of the rural population is declining. Projections show that by 2050, more than 50% of the population in HKH countries will live in cities (UNDESA, 2014). The unique geophysical situation of mountain cities and towns requires a special approach when conceptualizing water management. Moreover, rapid u